Medieval sites in Sicily, Korea and Turkey were among those selected to be added to UNESCO World Heritage list this week. During meetings held at Bonn, Germany, over 20 sites from around the world were added to the list, which now stands at over 1,000 landmarks and areas.

The International Medieval Congress begins on Monday at the University of Leeds, drawing in over 2400 medievalists from from 46 countries around the world. The four-day conference is Europe’s largest annual gathering in humanities.

Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that caused Justinian’s Plague and the Black Death, was once only able to cause a mild gastrointestinal infection. However, researchers have found that a single genetic change to bacteria turned into one of the deadliest diseases in human history.

27 venues, an army of experts, re-enactors and interpreters and nearly 1000 years of history will feature in this year’s blockbuster JORVIK Medieval Festival, taking place throughout August at venues from York’s city bars and Hornsea’s St Nicholas church, to Knaresborough Castle and Selby Abbey.

This battle, fought on August 26, 1346, was one of the most important victories for England during the Hundred Years War. New research about the battle has revealed how much confusion existed about who actually died during the battle.

It is a conundrum that has puzzled scholars for centuries, but now experts from the Magna Carta Project have established the scribe of at least one and possibly two of the original Magna Cartas of 1215.

Today the British Library reveals the top 10 clauses that could be included in a ‘Magna Carta for the digital age’. The top clauses have been selected by over 30,000 voters who have visited the site and chosen their favourites from over 500 clauses published on the site a week ago.

Maps do more than show us the way and identify major landmarks – rivers, towns, roads and hills. For centuries, they also offered a perspective on how societies viewed themselves in comparison to the rest of the world.

Magna Carta, one of the most famous documents in English history, turns 800 years old this month. It’s importance goes far beyond the British Isles, including to Canada, where a new book and exhibition are highlighting the impact the medieval charter made on the country.

To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, the British Library has created the Magna Carta: My Digital Rights project to examine what people think about in the issues of freedom and control in the digital age. The public can vote on their favourite clauses and on Monday 15 June, Magna Carta Day, the library will publish the results in the form of a ‘Magna Carta for the digital age’.

In his article, ‘What really caused the Viking Age? The social content of raiding and exploration’, Steven P. Ashby, a medieval archaeologist and lecturer at the University of Cambridge, outlines the many factors that would have prompted Norsemen – both the elites and the regular men – to conduct their raids across Europe.